Speculation on Mark Zuckerberg's marriage contract
The boss and co-founder of Facebook got married on Saturday, the day after the social network went public. A "timing" that lawyers specializing in divorce welcome.
This surprise marriage would almost eclipse the first steps on the stock market of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the boss and co-founder of the social network, on Saturday intimately married in Palo Alto, Calif., His longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Chan. A happy event announced by the young entrepreneur and his fiancée on their respective Facebook profiles. Since then, a question has tormented Internet users across the Atlantic, who do not hesitate to directly question Mark Zuckerberg on his personal page, like Vida Nikpour, a student at the University of San José: “Congratulations, Mark, j 'hope you signed a marriage contract?'
Even before the wedding, billionaire Donald Trump - who was not yet in the secret of the preparations - had thrown a pavement in the pond by providing his advice of triple divorced to the future husband. Invited on the CNBC channel, he had judged that "with so much money", Mark Zuckerberg should not pass the ring on the finger of Priscilla Chan without having signed a marriage contract.
It must be said that at only 28 years old the boss of Facebook is worth gold. With a personal fortune estimated at $ 17.5 billion, he was ranked 14th in the latest ranking of the 400 biggest American fortunes of Forbes magazine. A fortune that now gravitates around 20 billion dollars since last Friday, historic day for Wall Street with the listing of Facebook. "If for any reason they divorce in a few years, she (Priscilla Chan, Editor's note) will be able to claim 10 billion dollars from him in court and she will hit the jackpot," warns Donald Trump.
According to the California Family Code, "all property (...) acquired by a married person during marriage (...) falls under the community regime". They are divided into two in the event of divorce, unless a prenuptial agreement sets other conditions.
Key wedding date
While Mark Zuckerberg and his relatives remain silent on this subject, experts confront their conjectures. Ray Martin, financial advisor and columnist on CBS Money Watch, believes that "any person much richer than their spouse or endowed with a know-how or a talent" unique "and marketable should ask their other half to establish a wedding contract". According to some lawyers, quoted by News Daily, Priscilla Chan could thus claim a share of the profits made by the actions of Facebook during the marriage. For others, on the contrary, the date of the marriage - which was celebrated the day after the IPO - could seal this thorny issue.
According to Californian law, in fact, the spouses have no right to the fortune amassed by their spouse before the wedding. "If the wedding date was set so close to the IPO by accident, it's a happy coincidence," said Robert Blevans, a lawyer in Napa.
